In praise of laziness-economist mid august 13

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21583592-businesspeople-would-be-better-if-they-did-less-and-thought-more-praise-laziness

SURVIVING A BEAR MARKET

Worrying About Onions Just Go for Stocks Instead

More than 50% stocks on BSE currently trade at a huge discount to their book value 

Taking Stock of UPA Inert economy,policy paralysis bring Dalal St almost to its knees,but govt tries to give economy a leg up with swift clearance of a raft of held-up infrastructure projects 

More than half of the companies traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange are quoting below their book value,thanks to the sharp correction in most non-index stocks.The number has surged since the beginning of the year,though the benchmark Sensex has declined by just 4%.At the peak of the bull run that ended in January 2008,just seven companies in the BSE 500 index traded below their book value.Today,over two-fifths of BSE 500 stocks are quoting below their book value (the net worth of a company divided by the number of its shares).The net worth of a company is the sum of equity capital plus reserves.Of the 2,415 stocks traded on the BSE,as many as 1,352 are trading below book values.In contrast,at the end of last year,only 970 companies were undervalued in this manner.Companies whose stock price is less than the book value of share include names such as Hindalco, Reliance Communications, Tata Steel,JSW Steel,Sesa Goa and state-owned firms IndianOil, BHEL, NHPC,Sail, Power Finance and Neyveli Lignite.